International Tchaikovsky Competition

Vladimir Putin at a ceremonial gala winners of the XV International Competition

The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical-music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age. The competition is named after Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and is an active member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions.^[1]

For the XIV competition in 2011, Valery Gergiev was appointed the competition's chairman, and Richard Rodzinski, former president of the Van Cliburn Foundation, was appointed general director. A new voting system was instituted, created by mathematician John MacBain, and used by the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and the Cleveland International Piano Competition. All rules and regulations also underwent a complete revision. Emphasis was placed on the composition of the jury, which consisted primarily of well-known and respected performing artists. Finally, for all competitions from 2011 forward, a first prize will always be awarded.^[2]

The XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition was held in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, from June 14 to July 1, 2011, under the auspices of the Russian federal government and its Ministry of Culture. The competition disciplines were piano, violin, cello, and voice (male singers and female singers). The last competition took place in June 2015.^[3]

Prizes

Cash prizes are awarded to the top-five competitors in each discipline of piano, violin, cello, and to each of the top four competitors in the men's and women's solo vocal categories. First prize (always to be awarded) is 20,000 Euro; second, 15,000 Euro; third, 10,000 Euro; fourth, 5,000 Euro; and fifth, 3,000 Euro. An additional prize, a Grand Prix of 10,000 Euro, may be awarded to one of the gold medalists deemed outstanding by the juries. Additional awards are given for best performance of the chamber concertos and the commissioned new work.^[4]

For the 2015 competition, the prizes^[5] are as follows:

History

Held every four years, the first competition, in 1958, included two disciplines – piano and violin. Beginning with the second competition, in 1962, a cello category was added, and the vocal division was introduced during the third competition in 1966. In 1990, a fifth discipline was announced for the IX International Tchaikovsky Competition — a contest for violin makers which traditionally comes before the main competition.^[6]

Prize winners^[7]

Winners of the top three prizes awarded in the given year and category.

Piano

Violin

Cello

Vocal, female

Vocal, male

Grand Prix

See also

References

External links

• Official website for the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition (2015)
• Official website for the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition (June-July 2011 )
• Live Webcasts from XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition (June-July 2011 )
• Directory of International Piano Competitions
• Intermezzo-Productions.com
• Mariinsky